3D printing questions.

by DATA-DOG 17 Replies latest social current

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  DATA-DOG

  What the heck ARE they? What are they for? Should I learn more about them? Do you think there will be career opportunities? I figured some posters on JWN would know something. I am just beginning to become interested in this subject. I have NOT read much yet because of time constraints, and the END being so close! LOL!!

  Seriously, who knows about this stuff? Would you go to school to learn about it? Technology and the medical field are " where it's at " IMO. Being a dub, I did not learn jack squat or go to any type of college. I am an INTJ, if you buy into those things. I am mechanically inclined, and much of my work involves repairs and maintenance of just about anything that needs fixing. I am not afraid to tear anything apart and put it together again, and I love gears and things like that. Anyway, for some reason, 3d printing just seem so cool, but what are they really for???

  I am going to do some research, but I figured that I would pick the collective JWN brain.

  DD
• 

  pronomono

  Jay Leno uses this technology to produce hard to find plastic parts for his antique cars. Really, you can create anything with it that can be created with plastic - prototypes, combs, trim, even limited use guns. At least all the ones that I've seen use some type of plastic or plastic-composite material in the printing process. The printing process lays down very thin layers of the plastic material, from the bottom layer to the top. Youtube videos show the process very well.

  Many of the items that are printed are first scanned in using a 3d scanner then sent to the 3d printer to be built. I'm sure that many of the 3d modeling software packages are being built to send completed models to the 3d printer for printing. To get into this, an engineering degree would help with a focus on 3d modeling. If you have these skills, you won't be limited just to 3d printing, but you will have a whole host of lucrative opportunities available to you. The first few years would be the most difficult because many jobs want you to have a certain amount of experience before they hire you into something like this.

  I have no direct experience with this, but have read a few articles on the subject.
• 

  Nathan Natas

  I think that 3D printers will revolutioize workshops the way Guttenberg's movable type revolutionized printed communication.

  So YES, if you have the inclination to learn about them, do so.

  But I would advise against learning about them from a repairman's (service technician's) point-of-view. Instead, learn about how to CREATE with them using 3D CAD and (if this applies) Numerical Control methods. Then you would be able to create you own visions AND, if you wished, work as a consultant or "short job run" specialist to other businesses in your area.

  3D printshops will be the new incarnations of the old "village smithy" shop.

  Carpe Diem!

  As for what they are:

  Visualize your desktop inkjet printer: that is a 2D printer. It prints on an X and Y axis.

  The 3D printer is very similar to your inkjet printer, except that instead if squirting droplets of liquid ink onto a sheet of paper, it squirts droplets of molten plastic (usually) onto the work surface. The molten plastic rapidly cools and the printer then advances on the Z axis and repeats the process. In this way the plastic is deposited as "slices" of the thing being replicated.

  There is a site for a company called SHAPEWAYS that allows people to market things they have designed. The site is here:

  http://www.shapeways.com/

  Most of the items offered are less than 4 inches square, and they do tend to be pricey, but this IS new tech, and the print engines (the machines) and the printer "ink" are expensive.

  Bathsheba Grossman was one early adopter of 3D printing technology. She is an artist who has a better-than-average grasp of mathematics, and she produces sculptures like "Metatron," shown here:

  

  This is a great example of what you can do with 3D printing.
• 

  frankiespeakin

  I do lots of prototype work on CNCs 3D looks promising.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

  Additive manufacturing or 3D printing [1] is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. [2] 3D printing is also considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes).

  A materials printer usually performs 3D printing processes using digital technology. The first working 3D printer was created in 1984 by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems Corp. [3] Since the start of the 21st century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines, and their price has dropped substantially. [4] According to Wohlers Associates, a consultancy, the market for 3D printers and services was worth $2.2 billion worldwide in 2012, up 29% from 2011. [5]

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7GXgAm7sBo
• 

  MadGiant

  http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

  http://todaynewsgazette.com/3-d-printing-organs/

  http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37270/title/Organs-on-Demand/

  http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681116/a-3-d-printer-will-soon-print-you-new-organs

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaRXzlZ9Dyk

  Ismael
• 

  Nathan Natas

  A few years ago I bought 3 of these to display in an office basket:

  

  Imagine trying to carve this out of wood.
• 

  TD

  The bar in the Vdara tower in Las Vegas is divided from the lobby by a series of artsy-fartsy structures the Architect called 'Cobras.'

  

  They're African Rosewood and leather over a steel frame and stand 13+ feet tall. Each one weighs about as much as a Cadillac Escalade and actually cost more.

  Scale models were printed in 3d several times prior to fabrication to ensure that they actually would stand on their own with minimal anchorage. As is usually the case, the Architect's 3d drawings were worthless and had to be thrown out. They were redrawn from scratch by a specialty engineer/draftsperson.
• 

  Caedes

  What the heck ARE they? What are they for?

  There are a number of different 3D printing technologies, the most common use a polymer powder and a resin but you can get machines that will print a range of different polymers or even ones that laser sinter a powdered metal. The most common use is in prototyping. I have just finished a hydraulic manifold design that has been 3D printed prior to machining the real thing. The advantage of 3D printing a prototype is that it is much quicker than a short batch run through a traditional machine shop. We will be using the 3D print to test assembly procedures for the final build.

  Should I learn more about them? Do you think there will be career opportunities?

  You should always take the time to learn about something that interests you. There are lots of opportunities to take advantage of within the field of mechanical engineering, certainly we are only going to find more things that can be done with this technology.

  Seriously, who knows about this stuff? Would you go to school to learn about it?

  I learnt about it at university, we had a small 3D printer we were able to use. The use of the printer itself is fairly straightforward, the skills you need are in 3D modelling. If you can model items in a 3D CAD (computer aided design) package such as Inventer, Solidworks or Pro-engineer then you are ready to go. You wouldn't need to have a full degree to learn 3D modelling.

  If you are already mechanically inclined then you stand a good chance of being able to create models that are mechanically sound. It is very easy to create a 3D model that will just fall apart under its own weight.

  Most 3D printing is still done by firms that specialise in it, you have to have a very specific need to justify the cost of these machines. They are quite slow when you compare them to traditional 2D printers. I wouldn't recommend buying one unless you really know what you are doing and the cheap ones tend to have a much lower resolution or are limited in what they can print either in terms of size or material. In other words you get what you pay for.

  I am going to do some research.

  Best of luck, I hope you manage to get into it.
• 

  TD

  I'd also add that some of this software is frightfully expensive (What does the plain vanilla AutoCAD retail for these days? $4000.00 or so?) but you can get hands on experience as well as very substantial student discounts even at the community college level.
• 

  Simon

  It's like airfix but way more expensive although you don't get glue on your fingers.

  Or the table.

  And the floor.